Lobsterfest 2008 draws squadron of top performers
By Stephanie Laird
June 5, 2008
This year’s Lobsterfest, a music festival hosted by the All Campus Radio Network, boasts four separate shows featuring a litany of national, regional and local musicians, beginning this evening at the Union.
Spanning three days with nightly shows at the Union Bar & Grill and a free all-day outdoor event Saturday on the South Green lawn, Lobsterfest 2008 is growing into a diverse, multi-venue event tuned to an array of musical interests.
Andrew WK, an energetic performer from Detroit who breaks the barriers of musical genres with his passionate performances and party-hardy personality, is headlining the outdoor music festival on Saturday. This international performer’s dramatic disposition coupled with his capacity to captivate crowds produces a musical experience that can be exhilarating and enrapturing. Playing at 8 p.m., he has the last show of the free South Green concert. (See separate interview with Andrew WK.)
Lobsterfest Saturday starts at 3 p.m. with Kaslo, an Athens-based indie-rock band whose expanded lineup has cranked up the volume on their stage presence. Formed in 2005, the current Kaslo members include Teddy Humpert on vocals and guitar, guitarist Clay Flaherty, drummer Luke Brevoort, Jake Householder on bass and vocals, Michele Bartos playing the cello and singing, and keyboardist Tom Holmes.
Kaslo released their second album, “Ohio EP,” in May, which can be downloaded for free from the band’s Web site. According to Brevoort, their “fun, sing-along, folk, pop” music sounds as much like Athens, Ohio as it can. All of the current band members are either Ohio University graduates or on the brink of graduation, though they plan to remain in Athens to support the local music scene and continue rocking out as “weekend warriors.”
Six Gallery, a Columbus-based progressive-rock group with Athens roots, follows Kaslo.
Then comes Chicago’s Inspector Owl, a four-part human one-part computer rock ‘n’ roll dance band featuring guitarist, singer and programmer Corey Wills, Jesse Fisher on drums and vocals, Ben Grigg playing the synth, trumpet and auxiliary percussion, and Bobby Lord on bass, will perform on the main stage following Six Gallery.
Since forming in 2005, Inspector Owl has gone from two to four musicians, a transition that prompted them to grow into a more organic band with a greater rock ‘n roll persuasion and focus on the actual musicians, said Wills.
Their most recent album, “Life Finds A Way,” which was released in March 2006, resounds with the indecision of a recent college graduate trying to figure out what to do with his life. They will return to the studio this summer to begin laying down tracks for their next recording and continue making “fun, quirky, rock music,” said Wills.
Next up, in his third year in a row playing at Lobsterfest, Kevin Devine, a singer-songwriter/guitarist from New York, will take the main stage next for a solo acoustic set. According to Devine, his music ranges from indie-rock to punk-rock, with some folk-based tunes and politically framed songs.
Devine’s latest release, “Put Your Ghost to Rest,” will be joined by another album the end of this year. Devine said he is currently recording demos for his next album and plans to return to the studio in August. The upcoming album will have more of a folky, rock sound and the content of the songs will be all over the place, said Devine, unlike the last release in which everything hung together in a certain way.
Blueprint, a hip-hop, electronica-infused rap group from Columbus, plays the main stage at 7 p.m., followed by Dayton-based Mouth of the Architect, a psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll metal band. The main stage lineup culminates with Andrew W.K. at 8 p.m.
From 3-9 p.m. on Saturday, several bands will play on a side stage on the South Green lawn, including Death Beef, a local psychedelic/electronica/experimental infused band; Eric Metronome, a folk-pop artist based in Columbus; Joe Anderl, a Lobsterfest veteran with an acoustic, indie-rock vibe; and The Gunshy, a punk-rock band from Chicago with indie and folk influences.
Tonight’s show at the Union features The High Strung, a Detroit rock group and Athens favorite; and local bands Russenorsk and Nostra Nova. On Friday, Defiance, Ohio from Bloomington, Ind., Beaten Awake from Kent, local band Insect, Cleveland’s The Quincy Apparatus and Delay from Columbus will perform.
The Lobsterfest 2008 after-party at the Union on Saturday will be celebrated with: The Birthday Suits from Minneapolis, NightBeast of Dayton, Columbus-based Earwig and Necropolis, and Goes Cube from Brooklyn.
In addition to adding a third day of music to this year’s Lobsterfest, a do-it-yourself handmade craft bazaar will be held Saturday on the South Green lawn from 2-7 p.m. featuring vendors from all over Ohio.
SINCE BRIAN OSTRANDER TOOK the promoting position at ACRN in 2005, Lobsterfest has grown every year, as has its funding from Student Senate to facilitate this annual spring music festival.
“We wanted to make sure every night was something different that people wanted to go to,” said Ostrander, who endeavored to make this year’s lineup as diverse and weird as possible. Lobsterfest includes some of “the best local bands and some of the best recurring out-of-town musicians that draw a large crowd to their shows,” he added.
What sets Lobsterfest apart from other spring music festivals is that “people are coming out to see the music, not just drink beer in a field, for example,” said Ostrander.
Scott Winland, the booking manager for the Union, agrees that Lobsterfest is distinct from other spring festivals because it is a multi-venue event featuring the best of both worlds – outdoor performances and separate shows in a bar atmosphere..
For additional information on Lobsterfest 2008 visit: http://www.acrn.com/lobsterfest.
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